Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-15
A STRANGE RAILROAD ACCIDENT.

RECALLED BY THE HORSESHOE BEND
CAsUALTY-ITs UNFORTUNATE SEQUEL.
"The only railroad accident l ever
knew similar to the one at the Horseshoe
Bend, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, the
other day." said former conductor on
the Erie Railroad, "happened on the Erie
in 1872 or 1873, and ever since then the
regular passengers on that road never
occupy seat on the left-hand side of q
car going west, or the right-hand side
coming east, unless there are no seats to
be had on the opposite side. The acct
dent happened on the eastern division.
One of the fast passenger trains was
coming east, ana in passing west-bound
freight train heavy stick of tim
Der with (which q car was loaded
worked around crossways of the car it
was on, and projected so far over that it
caught the smoktng-car of the passenger
train. The timber was Wedged in its
place by the contact, and had resistance
enough to tear away the side OF the car
and sweep along over the seats. All of
the passengers managed to get out of the
way of the timber except William A.
Smith of Damascus, Penn, and the Hon.
Frank Buckley, member of Assembly
from Sullivan county. They were both
badly injured, Smith so seriously that he
was in paralyZed condition for nearly
two years.
"The late Senator Madden of Middle
town was q passenger on the train, and
from that day unit! his death he would
never sit in a railroad car on the side
next to the track going in the opposite
direction, even If he was otherwise COM
PEELED to stand in the aisle. This fear of
his seized ell Of the patrons of the road.
Accounts of the strange mishap were
widely printed, and even strangers who
bought tickets over the road in nine cases
out of ten for several years were partiCu-
lar to inquire which side of the train was
away from the other track. The regular
passengers never got over the habit of
rushing for what they considered the
safe seats in q car, and they can be seen
doing it to this day.
"Smith and Buckley sued the company
to recover heavy damages en- account Of
the accident. The suits were settled,
Smith receiving $4,000 in cash, and all the
expenses he had been to were paid. That
accident, by bringing him that money,
proved his ruin. Up to that time he had
lived quiet life and made good living
by following the peddling of notions
through Northern Pennsylvania, after the
old Jim Fisk style, but on q smaller
scale. With his $4,000 he started store,
and from that got into the lumber bust
ness and politics. He made great deal
of money, bought fast horses and spent
large sums trying to get political offices.
For several years he supplied the Glen
Cove Starch Company with all the lum-
Der it used for packing boxes, the con-
tract being the largest one of the kind in
the country. Smith fell into many ex
cesses, but was believed to be wealthy,
until one day about seven years ago, he
disappeared. Developments that fol-
lowed showed that he had not only
squandered all his own means, but had
ruined his partner, who was his father-ln-
law, by raising money on the firms
name. He returned home two or three
years ago, and is now peddling in 8 small
way in his old territory" NEW York
Sun.